Back in May last year, Uber Technologies and Waymo signed a strategic cooperation agreement, but only this year they decided to announce the launch of the Waymo driverless taxi service in Austin and Atlanta under the wing of Uber. Calling such taxis based on Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles in these cities will be carried out exclusively from the Uber application.
Image source: Waymo
Let us recall that Uber Technologies at a certain point abandoned its intentions to develop its own autopilot technologies, and now it relies on partners, which include not only Alphabet Corporation’s Waymo, but also General Motors Corporation’s rival Cruise. Uber also has partnerships with Wayve Technologies and Chinese automaker BYD.
If we return to the joint project between Uber and Waymo, it involves the launch of a fleet of autonomous taxis based on Jaguar electric vehicles in Atlanta and Austin from the beginning of next year. Calling such taxis will be possible through the standard Uber application; the company will also be involved in their ongoing technical maintenance and maintaining a neat appearance of the automatic taxi fleet. At the same time, Waymo will provide roadside assistance, and will also be responsible for further improving the software and communicating with passengers on urgent issues.
Waymo is active in the self-driving ride-hailing space in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, collectively providing more than 100,000 paid rides per week in addition to test rides. In this case, calling a taxi is carried out through Waymo’s own application. Uber executives believe that in the future, taxi drivers and self-driving taxis will be able to comfortably coexist while simultaneously accessing the line during peak hours. The company is ready to cooperate with leading players in the unmanned taxi market.